How These Women Survived 10 Years of Rape in a Cleveland "House of Horrors"

For 10 years, three young women were subject to horror that is hardly imaginable. Ariel Castro kidnapped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus, and held them a "house of horrors" in Cleveland. In a new book, two of the captives, Berry and DeJesus, tell their stories, share just how gruesome their conditions were — and just how brave they were to survive it all.

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When Berry was first kidnapped, she was taken to a dark room and raped. Castro then taped her ankles together, put a helmet over her head, and chained her to a pole. "I just started screaming and crying, and [yelling] 'Somebody please help me,' you know. And nobody, nobody came," she told ABC News. "I was so scared that I was going to die. I didn't think that I was going to ever make it home."

She was later brought up to another room, where she was chained to a radiator. Castro gave her a little food to eat once a day and let her take a shower once a week — but only if she would shower with him. She used a code in a diary Castro gave her to record how many times he raped her each day. Some said 4X, some said 5X, she told USA Today.

Castro tortured his three captives, forcing them to play Russian roulette and pitting them against each other for food and clothing. He also forced them to watch an episode of America's Most Wanted that focused on their disappearances.

Berry gave birth to a baby girl named Jocelyn in 2006, and Castro gave her special treatment. She made an imaginary schoolhouse, along with a pretend town, in the room where they were held captive. Two years later, Jocelyn pointed out that her dad's car was gone, and Amanda plotted her big escape. With the help of a neighbor, Charles Ramsey, they were able to get out.

Castro was sentenced to life in prison, but committed suicide in his cell in September of 2013. The "house of horrors" has been demolished.

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